Lynne Plambeck

For C-WIN board member Lynne Plambeck, it’s been clear from the start: protecting the environment takes more than goodwill. It requires complete commitment, personal passion, patience – and more than a little toughness.

After taking her bachelor’s degree at California State University at Northridge in 1975, Lynne pursued two years of graduate work, including courses in business management, accounting, personnel, and production control. She moved with her husband to the Santa Clarita Valley in 1976; the couple owned and operated a successful Burbank-based recycling business for 25 years.

She has been active in local Santa Clarita politics since the late 1980s, focusing on environmental and water issues. She helped rally local concern over the proposed Elsmere Landfill, a gigantic project that threatened to pollute the valley’s groundwater basin and chief water supply.  Her advocacy resulted in her election to the Newhall County Water District Board in 1993, where she gained a reputation as an unflagging champion for water stewardship and conservation. She served as the board’s vice president in 2002, and as president in 2004.

Lynne served for four years as a board member of the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency following its merger with Newhall. She was a 30-year member of the Association of California Water Agencies, serving on the Groundwater Committee.

“My focus has remained the same over my entire career,” Lynne observes. “I’m concerned about fiscal responsibility, government transparency, the sustainable use of groundwater, and the protection of the Santa Clara River and its floodplains. I’ve always believed we can simultaneously protect finances, public health and our local natural resources – including water. All it takes is the will to do it.”

In addition to her water agency positions, Lynne has served with numerous regional and national conservation organizations. She has held local and state positions with the Sierra Club and is the president and executive director of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment (SCOPE). She was a founding board member of the Friends of the Santa Clarita River and remains with that organization’s board today. She has worked tirelessly to preserve native oak ecosystems and was instrumental in securing landmark status for Pico Canyon’s “Old Glory” oak, a majestic valley oak that is more than 400 years old.

Lynne is also dedicated to maintaining rigorous air and water quality monitoring at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill to ensure the protection of nearby residents, and she has worked with neighborhood groups to oppose expansion and increased waste tonnage at the facility. Through SCOPE, Lynne and fellow activist Carole Lutness founded KURU 107.9, a low power FM radio station that serves the Santa Clarita Valley with news, indie alternative rock, and smooth jazz.

Lynne has received numerous awards for her environmental advocacy, including the Carla Bard Water Advocacy Award, the Sierra Club National Service Award, the Los Angeles Sierra Club Weldon Heald Conservation Award, and an award from the Planning and Conservation League for Water Policy Advocacy. She has been cited as the Truman Volunteer of the Year and was twice recognized as the Roosevelt Democrat of the Year.

Lynne is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Santa Clarita Valley and is a member of the congregation’s Social and Environmental Justice Committee. Her personal interests include photography, hiking, skiing, classical music and running. She ran in both the Boston and Los Angeles Marathons and placed 4th in her age group for the Los Angeles event.

Lynne joined the C-WIN board in 2023. Carolee Krieger, C-WIN’s executive director, observed Lynne’s inclusion on the board bolsters C-WIN’s profile and power.

“Lynne brings a deep reservoir of knowledge about Southern California’s water issues with her, and she has extensive contacts in both the political and policy spheres,” Carolee said. “We’re incredibly lucky to have her on our board.”